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Why a Disaster and Recovery Plan?

A Perfect Example

When Tropical Storm Lee hit the Eastern Seaboard in September of 2010, there was massive flooding even in areas normally not affected by hurricanes. One of those areas was Johnson City, New York, where a large number of animals died when flood waters overtook a local Petco because there was no disaster preparation and recovery plan. It’s impossible to plan for every contingency, but Johnson City is near a river; even if tropical storms are rare in the area, flooding is an ever-present danger whenever you’re situated near a water source. If the store had had a better disaster preparation plan in place, then perhaps fewer—or no—animals would have died. The community of Johnson City wouldn’t have been heartbroken and disgusted, and Petco wouldn’t have taken a huge hit to their corporate image. This is why a good disaster and recovery plan is so necessary for both home and business owners. In this article, we’ll explain the various ways that you can protect your property in case of water damage disaster.

Insurance

It’s important for both business and home owners to have solid insurance coverage so that disaster recovery will not become a financial nightmare. Homeowners in particular need to be aware of the fact that flood insurance is almost always separate from any other form of insurance; if you look carefully at your home owner’s insurance plan, then you’ll usually find that it specifically absolves the company of paying for flood damage. This is, unfortunately, especially true of homes and businesses located in known flood-zones. To protect yourself, make sure that you have separate flood insurance. It may be expensive, but because Austin water damage also leads to a need for mold remediation, it’s worth it. That’s additional disaster and expense you’ll have to deal with.

Plan of Action

As the events in Johnson City illustrated, you don’t just need to know what you’re going to do after a disaster has occurred; you also need to know what you’ll do before. If you own a business, then you need to come up with comprehensive plans on how to get your employees and any animals on the premises to safety during a flood, fire, or another disaster—and you need to institute drills so that employees are familiar with these plans and can carry them out under pressure. If you own your home, then you need to make sure that your family is prepared in case the electricity or water goes out. If you have pets or pomskies dogs you need to have a plan to take them with you when you evacuate. You’ll need to create a disaster kit and check it at least once a month so that you can replace items that may have expired. If the worst does happen, however, and you need help cleaning up water or fire damage, then you should contact a professional restoration contractor. A professional restoration contractor can help you effectively clean up water damage Austin and can also perform smoke and fire repair, as well as mold remediation. In the Central Texas area areas, they even offer emergency services.